14. Pilot Flying J engaged in years of rebate fraud, feds sayTruck stop chain and fuel provider Pilot Flying J’s headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn. were placed on lockdown April 15 when federal agents from the FBI and IRS raided the building and ordered non-essential employees to leave. Three days later, an affidavit filed by the FBI was unsealed, detailing allegations against the company that it had been systematically and intentionally defrauding some of its trucking company customers out of millions of dollars in owed rebate checks. Click here to see all of the coverage since April involving the Pilot allegations, including dozens of lawsuits — most of which have been settled — employees pleading guilty to fraud charges and Pilot CEO Jimmy Haslam detailing the action the company’s taken to prevent similar problems from occurring again.

13. E-log mandate rule could come next week, driver coercion rule in MarchThe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — including agency head Anne Ferro — has mentioned specific dates all year for the publication of the new electronic logging device mandate rule, and all of those dates came and went without a rule being published. This story, from earlier this month, said the Office of Management and Budget is still reviewing the rule. And again, Dec. 23 came and went without a rule. The rule now may not be published until after the new year. A story about the driver harassment-prevention component of the e-log mandate — a separate rulemaking — was also one of the most read stories of the year. Click here to see it.

7. Easing into ownership: The successful path to a lease-purchaseThe fail rate with lease purchases is high, according to sources in this story, so how can you make it work for you? This feature explores that, along with ways to help new owner-operators be successful, understand financing, go over contracts and learn about escrow accounts.

6. Back on the ice: Lisa Kelly’s return to Ice Road TruckersAfter a season-long hiatus, Lisa Kelly made her way back to the ice road for the most recent season of Ice Road Truckers. OD Senior Editor Todd Dills wrote an in-depth feature on Kelly, published in June, that explores her career and her interests outside of trucking. Another popular Lisa Kelly item of this year: OD’s Jack Roberts had the chance to do an in-cab video interview with her in March — Click here to watch it.

5. Hours of service, CSA top targets for House transportation committeeA new Congress took the reins in January, and the subcommittee responsible for overseeing trucking regulations and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration outlined a few key areas where it planned to study, including the impact on the entire supply chain of hours of service and CSA.